Wall construction.



No. 670,707. Patented Mar. 26,1901,

BROUSE. WALL CONSTRUCTION.

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UN'rnn STATES PATENT mes.

WILLIS H. FISHER AND CLAUDE BROUSE, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

WALL CONSTRUCTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 670,707, dated March26, 1901.

Application filed October 22, 1900. Serial No. 33,999. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIS l-I. FISHER and CLAUDE Bnousn, citizens ofthe United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco,State of California, have invented a certain new and useful Improvementin Wall Construction; and we do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of said invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it most nearly appertains tomake, use, and practice the same.

Our invention relates to that class of wall construction in whichblocks, slabs, or tiles made of concrete or cement are used in place ofweather-boarding or rustic boards to form a siding for frame structures;and it consists, first, of a concrete block, slab, or tile which isstiffened and strengthened by metal incorporated in the body of theconcrete, thereby avoiding the necessity of a wooden or other back-pieceheretofore applied to such blocks,

slabs, or tiles; secondly, of a simple and effective fastening devicefor attaching and anchoring such blocks, slabs, or tiles to theframework of the structure, and, thirdly, of a simple means and devicefor holding the block, slab, or tile in proper alinement when it issuperposed and in place, all as hereinafter more fully described.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a back viewinperspective of one of our blocks, slabs, or tiles when completed. Fig. 2is a longitudinal vertical section in perspective, taken through thecenter of the block, slab, or tile. Fig. 3 is a transverse section takenthrough one end of a block, showing the toe-piece for holding the blockin place; and Fig. 4 is a back view in perspective of a wall in courseof construction, showing the fastening and anchoring devices.

A represents a block, slab, or tile, which is formed of cement orconcrete either cast or made under pressure. Heretofore these blocks,slabs, or tiles have been connected with a wooden back-piece to givethem rigidity and strength; but experience has demonstrated that blocks,slabs, or tiles thus backed are liable to crack and disintegrate byreason of the swelling and shrinking of the wooden back-piece,particularly when the wood becomes damp or wet.

In the manufacture of our blocks, slabs, and tiles we use no back-piecewhatever; but

we incorporate in the body of the block during the process of casting ormanufacturing a metal framework, which becomes an integral part of everyblock, slab, or tile when finished. This framework consists of twometallic rods or tubes 7] b, one near each lon- 6o gitudinal edge of theblock, slab, or tile and connected by two or more transverse metal bars,plates, or rods 0 c. This framework is embedded in the plastic materialin the process of manufacturing the block, slab, or tile,

bedding these rods or tubes 1) bin the cement or concrete mixture wetake strong pieces of wire d dand wrap a portion of its mid-lengtharound the rods or tubes 1) batsuitable points in the length of theblock and allow the ends of the wires to project through the backportion of the block, slab, or tile and extend to a distance from itsback, as shown at F, Fig. 2. These Wire fastenings can be placedwherever they will be convenient to fasten them to the studding or postsof the framework,and their extremities may be bent to form books ornails 6.

In order to keep the blocks, slabs, or tiles in proper alinement whenthey are superposed in a structure, we insert a short metal 0 bar orplate ftransversely in the cement or concrete, near each end of theblock, at such an angle downward and backward that a portion of itslength will project at an angle rearward from the lower rear edge ofeach 5 I block and form a toe-piece that will prevent the blocks frombecoming displaced, as the angularly-projecting toe-piece will keep thetop edge of the underlying block pressed forward to its proper positionto preserve the zoo alinement even when the greatest strain is appliedto the fastening or anchoring wires. To keep the end edges of the blocksor tiles in position, we insert a metal rod or pin it in each end of thetubes 1), so that it will project and enter the ends of the tubes of theadjoining blocks and form dowels that serve to keep the ends of theblocks in line. These pins can be made slightly tapering, so that theywill fit tightly; but if solid bars or rods are used instead of tubesthe projecting pin will be formed on one end of each rod or bar and asocket in the opposite end to form dowels in the same manner. Wallsbuilt of these homogeneous blocks will not crack or check. Water may bepoured over them without affecting their integrity, and the fasteningdevices are simple and effective.

The blocks may be made of any shape required in Wall construction andthe incorporated metal bent to accommodate the-required shape.

Having thus described our invention, What we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. A composite slab or tile composed of concrete or cement having ametallic rod, bar or tube embedded longitudinally in its structure neareach longitudinal edge, said rods, bars or tubes having theirextremities constructed to receive dowels for uniting the slab or tilein which they are embedded with adjoining slabs or tiles, substantiallyas described.

2. A concrete slab or tile for facing walls having metallic rods or barsembedded in its structure; dowel-pins adapted to connect the ends of therods or bars, and one or more bars or plates partially embedded in theconcrete so that a portion of the length of each bar or plate willproject downward and backward from the lower rear angle of the slab ortile, substantially as described.

3. A composite slab or tile having a metallic bar or plate embedded inthe concrete at an angle to the lower edge of the slab or tile, so thata portion of the bar or plate will project downward and backward fromthe lower rear angle of the block or tile substantially as described.

4. In wall construction, composite blocks having metallic bars, tubes orrods embedded longitudinally in the body of the blocks, and dowel-pinsconnecting the ends of the metallic bars tubes or rods, substantially asdescribed.

In witness whereof we have hereunto signed our names this 17th day ofOctober, A. D. 1900.

WILLIS H. FISHER. CLAUDE BROUSE.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM HALE, T. O. KIERULFF.

